Publication this Tuesday, September 20, 2022 of the annual societal observatory of the League once morest cancer. This new edition focuses on the management of the consequences of cancer or its treatments. The observation is clear: significant inequalities remain in the face of supportive care, which has nevertheless proven itself in the prevention of the risk of relapse, and support in general. State of play.
What support and follow-up for people living with the consequences of cancer or treatments, whether physical, psychological or social? It is to this double question that the League once morest Cancer answers in the 2022 edition of its Societal Observatory. The result is edifying, which describes a picture that is contrasting and disturbing to say the least. Because if the support, both social (rights, financial aid, work, etc.) and non-drug, which includes all the so-called support care, such as adapted physical activity, behavioral and cognitive therapies, dietetics, hypnosis, acupuncture or physiotherapy is recommended by the health authorities, this support, therefore, remains very uncertain and far from being systematically offered.
Sport on prescription too little broadcast
Nearly a quarter of patients (24%) have never been referred to supportive care, despite their sequelae, and among those who are, 19% have had to give it up for financial reasons, geographical accessibility or lack of manpower or supply. And if we stick to physical exercise alone, which we know prevents up to more than 30% of the risk of recurrence, it is only recommended and prescribed for 26% of people suffering from chronic fatigue. . « However, it is the best recommended treatment. », underlines the League once morest cancer. However, these inequalities, already denounced on many occasions, should not improve with the aging of the population, which is moreover, adds Daniel Nizri, the national president of the League once morest cancer, « in a context of major hospital crisis and medical desertification in certain territories ».
In terms of social support, the finding is just as alarming, if not more so. « Among people who report fears regarding their job or their budget, more than half (51%) have not been referred to an occupational doctor, a social worker or a medico-social professional »notes the report.
A lack of continuity in the care pathway
Would the patient be on his own? The picture is not so caricatural if we take into account the other black point highlighted by this 2022 observatory, namely the lack of coordination between health professionals – between the hospital and the city –, and its corollary, namely the deterioration of the quality of care, even though these people need to be supported. They are 53%, according to the study carried out by the League once morest cancer, to have felt « at least a lack of coordination between the professionals accompanying them ». And of course, these dysfunctions lead to the renunciation of supportive care, especially among patients who also encounter financial and/or social accessibility difficulties. The more healthcare professionals there are and the more coordinated they are, the better the patient’s chance of being directed to the best possible care and of benefiting from fair and adequate care. Unsurprisingly, where they are understaffed, advice is lacking, further widening the inequalities between users of the health system.
For the record: 84% of people who have had cancer, regardless of how old they are, experience at least one physical consequence (pain, neuropathies, etc.) or psychological (mood disorders, anxiety, etc.) related to the disease or its treatments. . And among these, we find profiles that are more recurrent than others, such as women, individuals with the lowest incomes or whose care pathways have been complex. In its conclusions, the League Against Cancer asks the public authorities « to act to guarantee equality of care and support for all ». A request which, if it is not unprecedented, is a timely reminder that disparities do not go out of fashion and that, as such, the urgency to correct them remains of burning topicality.